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14 February, 2000The professional staff of Ford UK, represented by the MSF and T&G, are taking industrial action and the Ford European and German Works Councils are backing them.
GREAT BRITAIN: According to press statements from the IMF-affiliated Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union and the Transport and General Workers' Union, Ford Motor Company's UK professional staff voted by a 63% majority to take industrial action over pay and pensions after talks between the company and unions broke down.
The unions are demanding a pay settlement for the 7,000 salaried staff -- including engineers, information technology and clerical workers -- equivalent to what was agreed for the hourly workers back in November 1999 (a three-year 15% pay deal which included a reduction in the workweek). The company's final offer for salaried workers was only 11%. In addition to the pay dispute, Ford's demand to merge the pension funds of the two groups of workers was a further provocation, as the professional staff fund has a surplus of £507 million, while the fund for the hourly-paid has a deficit requiring funding of £155.2 million. Although Ford planned to fund the deficit over 13 years, professional staffers believe the company will use part of their surplus to fund a redundancy programme in its British plants.
The following schedule for a series of strikes has been announced:
February 21 -- one hour
February 24 -- one day
February 29 -- one day
March 6-8 -- three days
These would be the first-ever walkouts by Ford's UK white-collar staff and could halt car production in the UK and continental Europe.
Increased pressure on Ford UK is coming from the Ford European and German Works Councils which stated they will not accept strikebreaking work.
The unions are demanding a pay settlement for the 7,000 salaried staff -- including engineers, information technology and clerical workers -- equivalent to what was agreed for the hourly workers back in November 1999 (a three-year 15% pay deal which included a reduction in the workweek). The company's final offer for salaried workers was only 11%. In addition to the pay dispute, Ford's demand to merge the pension funds of the two groups of workers was a further provocation, as the professional staff fund has a surplus of £507 million, while the fund for the hourly-paid has a deficit requiring funding of £155.2 million. Although Ford planned to fund the deficit over 13 years, professional staffers believe the company will use part of their surplus to fund a redundancy programme in its British plants.
The following schedule for a series of strikes has been announced:
February 21 -- one hour
February 24 -- one day
February 29 -- one day
March 6-8 -- three days
These would be the first-ever walkouts by Ford's UK white-collar staff and could halt car production in the UK and continental Europe.
Increased pressure on Ford UK is coming from the Ford European and German Works Councils which stated they will not accept strikebreaking work.